Lievittävien

Lievittävien is a Finnish grammatical form used as the genitive plural of the adjective lievittävä, meaning mitigating or alleviating. The form appears in noun phrases where the noun is in plural and in the genitive case, for example lievittävien seuraamusten or lievittävien toimenpiteiden. In such constructions lievittävä describes the noun and the entire phrase expresses something related to mitigating or alleviating the noun’s meaning.

Etymology and morphology: lievittävä is derived from the verb lievittää, “to alleviate” or “to mitigate,” with the present participle/adjective suffix -vä. In Finnish, adjectives agree with the noun they modify, and their genitive plural form takes the ending -ien/-en patterns depending on the word. Lievittävien specifically marks that the modified noun is plural and in the genitive case, yielding a possessive-like relationship to the following head noun.

Usage and contexts: Lievittävien appears primarily in formal, legal, policy, or risk-assessment language where one discusses factors, measures, or consequences that mitigate a situation. Common constructions include lievittävien seuraamusten arviointi (assessment of mitigating consequences) or lievittävien toimenpiteiden tarve (need for mitigating measures). It is not a standalone noun but a grammatical form that accompanies a plural noun.

Related terms: The base adjective lievittävä, the noun lievittäminen (mitigation/alleviation), and related forms like lievittäjä (mitigator) or lieventävä (relieving) are used in similar contexts. Understanding lievittävien hinges on recognizing its role as a modifier in a genitive plural construction.